Jackson Free Press

OXFORD—Anthony Hervey has it rough with his self-imposed protesting duties for today's debate. Perched underneath the statue of the Confederate soldier on The Square with an 8-foot Mississippi state flag propped on his knee, Hervey is burning up in the afternoon sun. He's already discarded his felt hat and bandana, and he admits that the tight-fitting blue jeans, long-sleeved shirt and black cowboy boots don't make for the breeziest outfit.

Hervey, a black Oxford resident, is known about town for his penchant for protesting, doubly so since his subject matter can be a little confounding. Hervey is an ardent supporter of The Republican Party (McCain-Palin stickers decorate his protest sign that reads "Not the white man, nor the black man, but the right man.") Sitting beside him is his book, "Why I wave the Confederate Flag," the cover of which has his face emblazoned on the center of the controversial symbol. His mission, he says is calling for the elimination of "white guilt" that he says is perpetuated by social programs like Affirmative Action.

He's been protesting around town for years, and the archives of the student newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, detail some of his run-ins with campus security, 19 times from 1999 to 2002 according to one DM article. The enigmatic Hervey has never seemed to establish much of a following locally, and the seeming contradiction of a black Mississippian speaking out against racism, yet grandly accepting one of Southern racism's most obvious symbols helps to explain why. Yet Mississippi has always been about contradictions, like the first black candidate for president speaking in his first presidential debate at the university that, 46 years ago, did all it could to stop integration in its tracks.

Hervey will be the first to tell you that his views aren't the most popular. But under the shadow of the state flag he remains.

Previous Comments

ID

138295

Comment

Bryan, "enigmatic" is the perfect word because I don't. get. him. at. all.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-09-26T16:22:11-06:00

ID

138301

Comment

To each his own, whatever floats your boat, whichever tickles your fancy...I'm running out of cliches now.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-09-26T17:04:01-06:00